The Golden Gift
by SolitaryQuill
Summary: Harry’s 16th Birthday is here! A gift is received with unknown origins. Will it or will it not aid in the fight against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?
1. Happy Birthday!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter Characters or world. I am just using them for my enjoyment and no profit. Nothing in this story is non-fiction. As for spoilers, eventually probably all the books, though this is not HBP and beyond compliant.

Summary: Harry's 16th Birthday is here! A gift is received with unknown origins. Will it or will it not aid in the fight against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?

A/N: I decided that I wanted a different 1st Chapter for my first ever Fanfiction story. Well, my first story ever. As for Pairings.. Who knows! I don't plan any Romance in this story, just adventure and action, along with an OC of my very own.

There was just no use in getting excited about the pile of presents that could be seen upon the foot of his unmade bed. The usual anticipation that accompanied the arriving owls, the guessing game of what each package was before ripping through the usual gaudy wrapping paper and the knowledge that he was not forgotten, just was not there. Even the typical book given by Hermione did not cause the amused rolling of eyes.

What was the point when the only chance at having a family slipped through his fingers not too long ago? What was the point when a death sentence hung over your life in the form of a prophecy?

There wasn't a point as far as Harry James Potter could tell. And so he sat upon his unmade bed, leaning against the wall as he stared at the pile of presents that had arrived over the last hour or so. The only gift that he remotely had any interest in was from the Weasley Twins, simply because of the destruction a gift from them could cause. Hedwig hooted a few times from where she was perched on the open windowsill and when Harry gave her a weak smile, she took off into the night for the Hunt. The action spurred the dark haired youth into action and he was soon sorting the pile of gifts.

Simple cards and/or scrolls in one pile, the Weasleys in another, his dorm and year mates in another and then a pile for the Professors. Leaving the Weasley gifts for last, so hopefully he would be in a more appreciated mood by then, he started with the simple messages. There was one, surprisingly, from the Potions Master that simply said 'Happy Birthday Mr. Potter.' in simple neat little letters and then a flourished SS at the bottom. Strangely, that simple and short message touched something with the depressed youth, causing a tentative smile to emerge as he folded the note.

"No doubt the Headmaster forced you to write that Snape." The quiet sentence was spoken with amusement as he pictured the Potions Master scowling and glaring darkly as he scripted out the note in front of a twinkling Dumbledore.

The rest were the usual well wishes he got from just being The-Boy-Who-Lived and they ended up tossed to the floor without much care before turning to the pile from his dorm and year mates. This mostly contained chocolate, mostly chocolate frogs, and things to do with quidditch. Nothing overly expensive, which he was pleased about for he disliked people buying him expensive gifts when they weren't close friends. Hermione's gift was set aside with the Weasleys before the Professor pile was then tackled.

Rock cakes from Hagrid, of course. Those would be left out for his cousin, Dudley, to eat in the morning. Every year his cousin attempted to resist them as he knew they were not edible, but eventually he gave in to try them. The trick was to put them in a place Dudley would find them instead of his Aunt or Uncle. From his Head of House, a book by the title "A Guide to the Secrets of the Animagus", which did help spark the usual excitement that came with opening presents. From Dumbledore he got a lengthy note apologizing for keeping him in the Dark about what's going on in the War, but it ultimately stated that Harry would know what he needed to know and that wasn't everything. With the note, he received a silver ring that was in the shape of a snake.

_Hello little one. _The soft hissing noises issued from the youth could not be resisted as he gave a gentle caress over the snake, which he almost dropped when the snake came alive and blinked its small emerald eyes to hiss back._ Hello Ssspeaker. Are you my new Massster?_

_Massster? No, but I will be your new friend. My name isss Harry, what is yoursss_? Harry responded as he held his hand out flat, palm up. The small silver snake, which was no longer in a ring, slithered across the palm to investigate the smell and taste of her new owner.

_I don't have a name, Harry. _The quiet hiss of the silver snake sounded pleased as she was named friend instead of Servant to the Speaker_. _

_How about Vipera? It is latin for a viper and you look to be of that family. Do you have any giftss that you bessstow upon the wearer?" _Having talking jewelry would be interesting, it would assure that he always had someone to talk to. However, it is a magical gift that most likely is layered with charms.

_Vipera.. I like it, young Ssspeaker. Asss for my giftss, they are asss followss; I provide you with the ability to understand and ssspeak any language. Originally, I was created ssso that othersss could understand the Ssserpent Language, but you have thiss gift naturally. And because of your Natural ability, you can add more charmss upon me. Asss to where you wish to wear me, place me againssst your flessh and ssay sstay."_

The ability to add his own charms had some promise to consider. It took several minutes of debating, but it ended in a fit of rebellion that Harry placed the snake along the cartilage of his left ear at the top and hissed for it to stay. Instead of piercing through the flesh, it wrapped down along the ear ridge to form an ear cuff, though only a hissed command in Parseltongue could get it to detach itself.

Despite the lingering resentment and anger felt towards the Headmaster, the gift was a thoughtful one and touched him deeply. The next gift was from Remus which turned out to be a moving photo of Harry, Sirius and Remus which was taken in his Godfather's house library last summer. The three of them were roughhousing and laughing. A short note of sympathy and saying this is how Sirius would want to be remembered was attached to the photo. It was another hour before Harry could move on to other gifts, his eyes red from crying.

The Weasleys. From Ron, he got a new pair of black dragon hide gloves that would be useful during the Quidditch matches and winter. From Charlie and Bill, he got a forearm bracer that doubled as a holster for his wand made out of matching black dragon hide. However, he found magic compartments in the bracer which were bottomless, it seemed. The bracer was charmed so that only Harry, once he put it on, could retrieve things from the compartments or the wand. From Ginny, a pair of black dragon hide boots with cushioning and silencing charms on them. The Twins got Harry matching dragon hide leggings and tunic to match, though there was green trim at the cuffs and collar. The leather was butter soft, instead of hard and stiff. There was, of course, a pouch of new products from their store that Harry decided to test later and put it in one of the bracer compartments. From Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, he received a note saying their present was best given in person and apologized for not being able to have him for this summer. Harry couldn't help but wonder if one of the Dragons at the reserve died, causing a surplus of dragon hide on hand and the thought earned a brief frown. But on a more positive note, he did have a black leather outfit now that actually fit.

The folded note from Snape was also put in a compartment. The reasoning behind that was unclear to Harry, but he decided to not dwell upon it. Next, the photograph went into the compartment and that had Harry digging through his trunk for his Invisibility Cloak, Map of Hogwarts and picture album of his parents.. Which he managed to fit into his bracer compartments as well.

Finally, the gift from Hermione was opened which was the typical book. What was not very typical about it was that it was a small and thin book with a hard front and back cover. The covers were made out of an emerald colored scales which were hard but felt soft. A lock in the shape of a silver snake held it closed. A diary is what it looked to be. The note attached read:

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy Birthday! I hope the day finds you well, as well as it can with those disgusting relatives of yours! This is a journal, at least the bookstore attendant told me so, that I found while I was in Italy this summer with my parents. It was a tiny remote little bookstore, they had the most fascinating books on old magic and customs. Culture sure has changed in the Wizarding World! But back to your present, it apparently only opens to Parseltongue and whatever you write in the book is translated to Parseltongue. Isn't that neat? Only you will be able to read what is written, even if you forget to lock it! See you soon!_

_Happy Birthday!_

_Love,_

_Hermione Granger_

A relatively short note for the bookworm, but the tangent on the bookstore caused a smile all the same. Hissing for the Journal to open, the silver snake came alive long enough to unclasp itself. The snake motif continued on the inside of the journal in the corners, though it was faint enough to not be distracting. There was writing already in the journal, but Harry could barely keep his eyes open so he closed it and put it in a bracer compartment for another time.

As Harry drifted off to sleep, he was in a better mood than he had been since Sirius fell through the Veil and for once, he dreamt of good things instead of the Department of Mysteries.

The birthday boy awoke to the pounding on his door and his uncle yelling through the door that they were going out to breakfast and into the city for the day. He was, of course, not to leave the house or be seen and all of that rubbish. All of the warnings and threats were rendered pointless as Harry jumped from the tangle of sheets as he heard his door locked from the outside. Which earned a few kicks and curse words aimed at the door, his uncle already heaving himself down the stairs.

_Young Sspeaker, what iss the matter?_ Vipera hissed softly in Harry's ear once the youth was done banging and yelling at the door.

_I am locked in. That iss the matter. Big ugly gitss!_

_Remove me and place me at the locking hole. I will unlock it for you, Sspeaker. _The tone of the hissing from the tiny metallic snake held an annoyed sound to it, but Harry was unsure if it was due to his own reactions to being locked in or for being locked in by his Uncle.

For a moment, Harry stood their dumbfounded before hissing the silver snake removed from his ear and then held it to the keyhole. The small silver snake disappeared briefly into the hole, which soon clicked unlocked. With a grin, he thanked Vipera and returned her to his ear before heading to the shower.

It was after washing up and cooking his own breakfast, which he didn't get the scraps from for once, that he decided to try on his clothing. The dragon hide bracer hid seamlessly beneath the tunic's sleeves, so it couldn't be seen. The butter soft leather tunic and pants shrunk themselves to fit comfortably once on, just like the bracer and the boots as well. The silencing and cushioning charm were tried out as he jumped on the furniture and up and down the stairs. They worked perfectly. The gloves had a charm on them to keep his hands from sweating, so even in the hot weather his gloved hands stayed cool.

The messy black hair was not tamable still, but Harry didn't mind as it seemed to go with his outfit. Only the glasses needed to go, but that would have to be dealt with at a later time. A shame Professor Snape could not whip up a potion that would simply heal his eyes! As a thought about Snape snuck in, it earned a brief frown but he shoved that aside. Deciding to write thank you letters, Harry returned to his bedroom only to be distracted by something shiny on his unmade bed.

At first, Harry thought it was a gold coin but as he approached it was clear that currency it was not. Without a conscious effort, he had his holly wand within a comfortable grip in his hand as he studied the object. That in itself startled him and he decided to question the older Wealseys more in depth about the bracer he now wore.

Focusing more upon the object, he absently noted that it wasn't as shiny as before. It was more of a dull or muted gold color it was in the shape of a slanted rectangle, though it wasn't a perfect rectangle. A few pokes of his wand against the object produced no negative reactions and so with a shrug, and quite abit of Gryffindor courage, Harry picked up the object. It was smooth and warm to the touch, a feeling of love and protectiveness washed through him strongly before fading away slowly, but not completely.

What also faded away was the object within the fingers of the Seeker, though it soon reappeared on a strand of small clear sea pearls around his neck. The now empty fingers flew to his neck to run over the smooth pearls and the muted golden object turned pendant. It was somewhat startling to be wearing a choker suddenly, especially with Harry discovered that there was no clasp in which to take it off. However, it was hard to be wary or apprehensive of the, gift?, when it made him feel loved and protected.

It was turning out to be a good birthday, his relatives were gone for the day which allowed him free reign of the house, he had an outfit that was not a hand-me-down from his large cousin and also was not a school uniform, a new friend in the form of the silver snake hugging his left ear and some pretty special gifts that were actually thoughtful. Perhaps now all he needed was to get out of the House and so something.. Independent.

Yes, that sounded good and it was with that thought that Harry left his bedroom. The thank you letters could wait. Although, just as Harry was about to take the first step down the stairs there was a sudden bang from downstairs that sounded like it came from the kitchen. The Seeker's reaction was immediate, the wand was firmly held within his hand as he crouched and listened intently to muffled voices.

The muffled voices suddenly disappeared, which could only be the result of a silencing charm. Harry knew this because he had enough experience with eavesdropping on Order matters last summer, which usually ended with the sudden appearance of a silencing charm. There were several moment of indecision as Harry remained crouched atop the stairs. Should he make a run for it? Using magic may get him expelled from Hogwarts if the other summer where he got in trouble for defending against a Dementor was any guess.

But if he ran.. Then his relatives would come home to a possible ambush and who knew what would happen to them. Gryffindor courage, or was that stupidity, had Harry retrieving the invisibility cloak from the bracer compartment and slinging it over him. Silently he thanked Ginny for the silencing charms upon the dragonhide boots as he snuck down the stairs and towards the kitchen. Only to pause next to his old cupboard, where he crouched once more and listened. The charm was still in place, but he could see the movement of shadows beneath the door.

Several plans shifted through his mind as he crouched there undecided on what to do with gritted teeth. An anger was starting to burning within him as his temper flared. How dare these people invade his home? And on his birthday no less! What about the blood protection..? It was suppose to make this impossible. Just as the thought struck him that perhaps these were friends and not foes, a feline slinked passed him towards the kitchen door. It was his Head of House in her Animagus form and it caused Harry to grin as she stopped and sniffed the air. The jig was up so to speak, so he removed his invisibility cloak and swiftly returned it to the bracer compartment as the cat sniffed at the cupboard. Thankfully her back was to him, so he got to startle her nicely.

With the sudden yowl from the Professor, the kitchen door banged open to show a doorway full of armed Wizards and Witches gaping at the puff ball of fur that was currently wrapped around the Birthday Boy's head, who was sprawled on his back trying to pry the frighten feline off him. Instead of yelling Happy Birthday! The doorway full of people laughed, even as the Transfiguration Professor, in human form, and Harry walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasely had baked a cake in the form of a large broomstick, which was covered in sixteen lit candles and covered the middle of the kitchen table.

All the Weaselys, minus Percy, Hermione, his dorm mates, McGonagall, Remus, Snape.. Snape! Tonks and Moody were all piled within the small muggle kitchen. As expected, Mr. Weasely was touching everything while Mrs. Weasely kept quietly removing objects from his hands to place it back where Arthur found it. Quietly until she got fed up and yelled at him. The noise level was loud enough in the kitchen that the yelling went unnoticed, or everyone was used to it enough to ignore it, as they enjoyed the cake and got caught up.

Everyone commented on Harry's outfit, including the charm and his new earring to which he both simply replied they were presents. Everyone but Moody and Snape that is. They were both busy holding up opposite sides of the kitchen walls glaring at one another fiercely. That is until the Potions Master tensed, his right hand given an abortive move towards his left forearm as his gaze suddenly cut in Harry's direction.

The birthday boy was frozen with a fork full of cake halfway to his mouth, emerald eyes glued to the small black dagger that had appeared in the air before him, where it was slowly twirling in a circle. There was a sudden impulse to grab the weapon and as that impulse took hold, the plate and fork fell from the Boy-Who-Lived's fingers as he reached forward.

There was a loud and hoarse "Potter!" yelled from the Mad-Eyed Moody as he lurched from the wall, the sudden change in Snape's gaze driving his own, not to mention the magical blade drawing the attention of his eye. A heartbeat after that cry, four things happened at once; The plate shattered upon impact with the floor, potioned stained fingers clasped upon a forearm, a now ungloved hand grasped the floating dagger's hilt and the muted golden pendant grew hot against flesh with the pull behind the navel.


	2. Oops?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter Characters or world. I am just using them for my enjoyment and no profit. Nothing in this story is non-fiction. As for spoilers, eventually probably all the books, though this is not HBP and beyond compliant.

Summary: Harry's 16th Birthday is here! A gift is received with unknown origins. Will it or will it not aid in the fight against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?

A/N: This used to be the 1st Chapter of Darastix, a Birthday Gift?. I changed a few things around on it.. i wanted to change the beginning of the story.

'_What a great birthday! I am sixteen years old today and I get to spend it lost in this Merlin forsaken forest stuck with him!_ _I wish Sirius was here..'_ And with that thought, another quiet sigh escaped the dark haired youth as he stepped over a fallen log. The forest that he, Harry Potter, was lost in was quite the typical forest. Or so he assumed, for it did not have that 'dark' feeling of the Forbidden Forest. However, considering that he was sent there via port key, one attached to a birthday gift, didn't give him any happy feelings in regards to the forest. Especially since his companion, and the term is used loosely, keeps Glaring over his shoulder with each sigh.

Severus Snape. Harry still could not figure out what he was doing at his birthday party to begin with. Perhaps he was the one who sent the port key gift? But if that was so, then why would he try to stop it from being touched or come along for the ride? Some big conspiracy? The glowering and constant bad mood for the last two hours did not support that Theory. Of course, the thought of Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters sending the gift kept popping up and if that was the case, how come nothing was trying to kill the duo yet? All very nerve racking, though Sirius would of found a way to make being lost in a strange forest fun..

"Potter! _What_ don't you understand about silence?"

Quite on purpose, Harry gave another sigh instead of the verbal retort that was on the tip of his tongue. A retort that would have been rather detention-worthy, but self preservation was kicking in which demanded Harry not agitate Snape too much. Instead. "Professor, can't we take a break?"

It really was an innocent question, the perfect influence of a whine to his tone of voice wasn't intentional. Really. But it did have the desired response when the taller man stopped his long strides. However, it wasn't to turn around and grant the request, or more likely sneer, but rather just pause. And then the Potion's Master disappeared between the curtain of vines he had parted with the tip of his wand.

"Take your break, Mr. Potter. After all, I can't expect a celebrity such as yourself to be used to exercise that did not include sitting on a broomstick."

The sneer, while Harry couldn't see it with Snape's back to him, could very much hear it in the tone of voice. It had the Professor's desired response as the youth's back straightened and a stubborn tilt of jaw was given. However, Snape strode off further into the clearing before Harry could voice his verbal response.

The clearing itself was about as unremarkable as the rest of the forest, but the Stars! They were so large and bright that Harry found himself gazing upon them. This is what had Snape quite worried. For he could not recognize any of the star formations, something he had only glimpsed upon through the thick canopy of the forest. But here, in the clearing, it was undeniable.

"Mr. Potter, we will stay here for the night. Gather some wood for a fire and set them along that outcropping of rock." The worried mindset of the Professor was masked in agitation as he snapped the command while walking further away from the boy.

"Yes, Sir." Came the automatic response as Harry snapped out of his star gazing and obediently returned to the edge of the clearing to root around for twigs. While all the time muttering about being lost with a greasy bastard and what he wouldn't give for some birthday cake right about now. It seemed like days ago when he had been enjoying said cake with his friends. But it had only been hours and the fact that it was night here when it had been early afternoon in Surrey spoke volumes. Exactly why had he been so stupid to grab that inviting dagger? And where had it gone? Upon arriving, the dagger was no where to be seen. Snape had not been pleased, which was putting it mildly.

While the boy-who-lived was gathering firewood, Professor Snape approached the large pond warily with his wand held loosely in potioned stained fingers. There was something off about the forest that he could not pin point just yet. Years of spying and teaching children already had his frustration of his current situation pushed to the back of his mind. No reason to dwell on that, it was hard enough to not strangle Potter every five minutes when the boy sighed. With his own sigh, a few spells were shot off into the water and the few fish, now dead, were levitated out. Letting their supper float behind him, the Potion's Master turned to the out cropping of the rock and stopped.

Potter was crouched over the pile of sticks, vainly rubbing two together to try and start a fire. What a muggle thing to do, Snape mused as he walked over. "Mr. Potter, while I know it is hard for you to use that little brain of yours outside of Quidditch let me remind you that you are a Wizard. Not a muggle." And with that, the Professor flicked his wand and watched amusedly as the boy sprang back from the now lit wood.

It was only the floating fish behind the Professor that had Harry not retorting as his temper flared, it would be just like Snape to not feed him. The Glare sent towards the Professor spoke volumes though as Harry grit his teeth hard.

The meal was passed by in silence with Harry deciding to ignore the very existence of the Professor and Snape imagining Potter was never born. Of course, the multitude of unknown plants and herbs was much on the Potion Master's mind, as well as how to get home. It was during this quiet time, which Harry spent sprawled on his back to gaze upon the stars, that a worry was voiced.

"Professor, do you recognize any of these star patterns?"

"No." It was a slow response, the dark gaze of the Professor was regarding the sprawled youth like an ingredient he had never seen before. It was surprising to Snape that the boy paid enough attention in his Astronomy Class to realize these were unknown Stars.

"So, we are Lost. Truly Lost." It was a quiet statement. A statement laced with sadness, resignation and mild anger. It was the last two emotions that interested the Professor. Why would the boy be resigned to being Lost in an unknown land? The anger wasn't particularly unrealistic, the little celebrity did have quite a temper on him. But it was still interesting that it was present instead of just despair, loneliness or sadness. It is, after all, the boy's birthday.. And he wasn't the center of attention for a party.

"Instead of whining about our current location, which by the way is your fault for touching an obvious Port Key, why don't you get some sleep? There will be a long day of walking tomorrow." The customary sneer was in place as the Professor continued to gaze upon the teenager. Said teenager rolled his eyes before rolling away from the Potion Master to sleep.

It wasn't long after the breathing of the youth evened out into a sleep pattern, which caused the Professor to relax and pay more attention to his surroundings. It was then that he realized what seemed so _off about the forest. There was no life beyond the vegetation and insects. There should have been the flight or song of birds. The scamper of rodents. Tracks of ground dwelling animals. This realization caused a heavy tension to take hold of his body and a straining of his ears. While its true that their presence would quiet a forest immediately around them, they had been still and quiet long enough for that to fade._

_Predators. _They are what caused the quietness he was currently experiencing, but even then there tended to be the call of rodents and or birds to give the warning of such a beast. Something was wrong. They had to be in danger. Why else would an unknown Port Key send them here? With this thought in mind, the Professor began to quietly strengthen the wards he had silently cast upon entering the clearing. It was halfway through this process that whimpering could be heard.

Whimpering from Potter. With a roll of his eyes, he continued to strengthen the wards determined that whatever the Golden Boy was dreaming about, couldn't be that bad. Besides, he had a silencing ward around the two of them. Which was a good thing since in a matter of seconds from the first whimper, Harry shot upwards with a scream and his nails digging into his forehead which was already bloody from the red and inflamed Lightning Bolt shaped curse scar. The dull golden pendant at the boy's neck was glowing brightly, while the clear pearls had green storm clouds forming in them. These things were registered automatically in the Spy's mind, but pushed aside to be dissected later.

With the wards forgotten, the Professor sprung across their small camp to push the boy back onto the ground and pry the hands away from his forehead before Potter could hurt himself. All the while shaking the youth. "Wake up, Potter! Close your mind to him!" It took only sixty seconds of yelling this over and over at the boy before Snape realized he was behaving like a muggle now. Grabbing his wand, he gave it a flick to Ennervate the boy and force him out of his Nightmare laced sleep. If one could call that sleep.

Harry went completely limp in his Professor's arms as a result of the spell, but before Snape could be worried about that a groan was issued. As Potter woke, he was laid back upon the grass carefully and his vitals taken to make sure he would be fine all the while being scowled at. "If you would just close your mind to Him, you could actually sleep Mr. Potter!"

"Not.." The effort to speak was a little too much, but with a lick of dry lips Harry managed to mutter. "Not Him. Not Voldemort."

"Don't speak His name!" Snape snapped instantly, his head lifting to gaze around them warily before looking back down to the painful boy. "What do you mean it was not _Him_?" Who else would attack the boy's mind?

"strange.." but before Harry could elaborate, there was a loud screeching roar that sounded above them. It was soul-freezing worthy of terrifying. However, Snape was used to being in life or death situations, and Harry with the Tri-Wizard Tournament experience, did not freeze. Their heads snapped upwards in time to see the large moon and most of the sky blocked from their view by a beast. A Winged beast with shining green scales.

"Dragon!" Both thought it, but it was Potter who found the sudden strength to speak clearly. Or was that yell? With both Wizards tired from their trek through the forest, they did the only sensible thing as the Beast Dove towards them. Grabbing Potter by his art, the Potions Master hefted the youth upwards as they darted towards the dense forest in an outright retreat.

The forest was Salvation, but with every step they took.. The shadow on the ground before and around them was getting bigger and bigger as the Dragon dived for its meal. The forest was no longer quiet to them for both wizards could hear their hearts beating in their ears. And as they threw themselves into the thick undergrowth of the forest, forcing their way into it, it wasn't fire that licked along at their heels.

From the great mouth of the Dragon came Acid. The smell of it was unmistakable, which caused Snape's head to snap upwards with his familiarity of it but self preservation had him continuing into the forest with a death grip on Potter's arm.

That screeching roar was sounded again as the Dragon lost its prey to the too thick forest, but it launched itself into the air to follow the mad dash of the wizards from above.


	3. Green Vs Black

There was nothing quite like clinging to his Nimbus 2000 as he dove through the sky, the cold air cutting at his face as he ducked down closer to the broomstick and suddenly rolled to the side, avoiding the wave of fire spewed forth by the dragon on his tail. And running through this forest, the thick under bush seemingly clinging to his body as he was ripped through it by the unyielding grip on his arm, with an angry and hungry dragon flying above them was nothing like the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The smell of acid as it ate at the canopy above us was dangerous enough as droplets broke through now and then, though his dragonhide outfit protected him well enough.

Even through the leather hide sleeve, the grip of the Potions Master was bruising as he dragged the stumbling youth along after him. Randomly, Snape would suddenly change direction so that their movements would not be so predictable, it was bad enough that they were running like frightened rabbits. It was during one of these sudden turns that the billowing black robes of the Professor got caught up in a bush and the sudden jerking motion backwards had both Professor and student falling to the ground in a jumble of limbs.

While Harry rolled one way, Snape rolled the other as they disentangled themselves. The shock of suddenly being upon the ground, as well as the rough landing, forced them out of the panic fleeing that had taken hold of the two wizards. Both were panting heavily as they sat upon the ground, their eyes upon the canopy of the forest above them. Did they loose the dragon? A glance was spared towards Harry.

"Your pendant is glowing, Mr. Potter." Came the calm tone of voice of the Professor, the sneer missing as he attempted to gain his breath and dignity. Harry took a moment to marvel that Snape could sound calm at a moment like this, despite the large gulps of breaths the Professor was taking. The youth's gloved hand snaked upwards to the glowing gold pendant, clutching it and relaxing as the loving and protected feeling flooded him.

The relaxed state was short lived as emerald eyes took in the state of his Professor. The man had cuts on his pale face and neck from the mad dash through the forest, leaves in his dark hair and what was even more alarming was that the 'bush' his robes was tangled up in was creeping up Snape's robes. It didn't take more than a heartbeat for the Professor to know something was wrong as he watched the dramatic change in Potter's facial expression; the even further paling of his skin, the opening of his mouth in horror and the widening of his eyes. The result had Snape turning his attention to the thorn infested bush that was currently trying to eat him. At once, the Spy began to attempt to untangle himself without going into a panic.

Harry, however, chose to panic. As the youth surged to his feet, his Gryffindor courage and need to protect others surging up as well, the Phoenix core wand was in his hand and 'Incendio!' was yelled loudly. The glowing pendent felt almost as hot against his flesh as his spell that set fire to the bush. The intensity of it soon had bush curling inwards on itself and burnt to ash. "Idiot!" Came the snapping voice of the Professor as he was busy soaking himself to put the flames out that leapt upon his robes and then as he rose upon shaking legs, to the surrounding area.

"Why don't you just set the whole forest on fire while your at it, Mr. Potter." The sneer was in full effect, twisting the facial features of the tall man as he glared at the younger wizard. "How you managed to pass any of your OWLs and lead that ridiculous club of yours is a testament to you throwing around your status than your intelligence."

"It worked didn't it?!" Came the angry response from the teenager, green eyes blazing more than his golden pendant had. Twisting around so his back was to the Potions Master, he angrily strode off further into the forest while throwing over his shoulder. "Your welcome by the way!"

"Potter!" Shoving himself forward, the longer legs of the Professor had him catching up to the teenager shortly so he could grab Potter's arm and spin him around. "You will sho-", before he could finish the scolding, the forgotten dragon above made his presence known as the flap of its strong wings just above the tree tops sent a wind that had the angry, but rather tired and weak, wizards stumbling. The argument was forgotten as they both turned towards the great beast hovering above them. They had unknowingly moving into a thinner part of the forest while yelling at one another. They looked just in time to see the bearded jaw open wide, displaying the great fangs and long forked tongue and rear back its long, strangely elegant for the size, neck and spew forth its breath weapon of an unknown acid. By smell, Snape could only assume it was some type of Chlorine base.

"Protego!" Came the fierce yell of the Professor as he instantly pulled the smaller wizard behind him and bent his knees slightly to help with the impact against his shields. It was only a lifetime of forcing himself to survive that Snape was able to pull up a strong enough shield to protect the two of them. It also helped that most of the acid was caught in the canopy above them. Said canopy was about to be ripped out from over the two as the clawed paws of the dragon pressed down upon them, each paw wide enough to take out five trees each. It was simply going to rip the forest apart to get at them.

Ironically, it was the arrival of another dragon that saved the two wizards instead of their magical powers. While the roar of the green dragon tearing at the canopy above them had not frozen the two at the beginning of their mad dash, the challenging war cry of the black dragon did freeze all three of them. However, the shining green dragon only froze for an instantly before it launched itself upwards in a spiraling manner to gain altitude to meet the approaching dragon. Unknown to the two wizards, they were in the middle of territorial fight, these were prize Lair grounds and the two dragons were natural enemies.

The green dragon could be described as beautiful as a gem, then the black dragon could be described as death. The older the black dragon, the more dead it began to look as the scales seemed to be rotting. Luckily, Harry and Snape weren't close enough to see any details of the massive black beast and soon they were left to themselves. The fighting dragons covered miles and miles , the green forgetting all about the insignificant intruders.

With the immediate threat gone, the adrenaline that had been pushing Harry was suddenly gone and he dropped to the ground harshly. The hours of walking, the stress of being lost , being chased by a dragon and being in Snape's close proximity for so long finally took its toll upon the young man. Snape was also ready to drop, but he drew heavily upon his stubborn will and levitated the passed out boy to find a suitable place to camp. Somewhere with some more shelter and preferably security.

With Potter not among the alert, he was able to relax and weariness stole over his usual scowling face. The Potions Master was tired, hungry, sore, and angry. Angry with himself for joining Potter on this deadly adventure, for not stopping the stupid boy from grabbing the portkey. The prophecy was known to him and now it fell squarely on his shoulders to make sure Potter made it through this world of dragons. Both dragons he had seen, even though he had not taken the time to truly study them, were unknown species to him. And these were unknown stars to him. The fact that his Dark Mark had flared painfully as the portkey appeared in front of Potter had him assuming this was some sort of plan of the Dark Lord. But, as a member of the Inner Circle, how did he not know of this plan? Was he no longer trusted? His position of Spy found out? Perhaps it had merely been a coincidence. Right.

Another jutting of rock appeared and after some brief exploring, a small cave was found and this is where Snape decided to set camp. Setting Potter down after clearing the floor, he took a few moments to magically get a fire started so he didn't have to spare the energy for warming charms. Rocks were transfigured into thick blankets and after tucking in the boy, he checked Potter's vitals before setting a few wards and going to sleep himself.

--

There was no whimpering during Potter's slumber this time, to which Snape was thankful as it allowed him time to rest and regain his strength for he had set a charm on the boy to wake him when the youth woke or his heart rate increased like it would in a nightmare. But for the last two hours, Snape had been awake and while he had not spent those two hours staring at Potter, he was doing just that right now. The dark eyes of the man were narrowed in thought as he gazed upon the no longer glowing golden pendent. Infact, it wasn't particularly shiny bbut more of a dull golden color he noted. And those pearls, which had green brewing stormclouds in it earlier, were now simply clear. The mystery behind the necklace was starting to truly rouse the curiosity of the Potions Master and that meant he wanted to dissect the object and find all its secrets. Where did the Potter brat get it? No doubt someone bestowed it upon the little celebrity out of 'gratitude' for vanquishing the Dark Lord sixteen years ago. Morons.

Shifting forward, the Professor leaned over the younger wizard to gaze closer at the golden pendent and clear pearls, was something written upon them? A long stained finger was reached out to touch the pendant only for a golden spark to jump out burn said finger. The sudden spike of heat in the pendant, while it never harmed Harry, woke the young man suddenly and he jolted upwards startled. Harry, unaware of what was happening or where he was and with who, instinctively sent a harsh fist at the face leaning over him.

It was quite the clumsy punch, but it did what as needed and drove Snape backwards from his knees and to his rear end as a grunt was ripping from him. Once more, the wand instantly was out of the bracer and in his hand, being pointed steadily at the Professor. Said Professor was sending a deadly glare at the Gryffindor as he rubbed the blood from his bottom lip. Was Harry imagining it or was that a glimmer of respect in those dark eyes of the Potions Master as they gazed at one another silently for several moments.

"How very civilized of you Mr. Potter. I wonder at the healing abilities of your dorm mates." Instead of the usual sneer that laced the Potions Master's tone of voice when he spoke to Harry, this was a casual drawl. Though when those black eyes narrowed more and the very corners of his lips tilted into a subtle smirk, he knew there was more. "Your bed warmers may put up with such treatment because of your celebrity status, Mr. Potter, but I can assure you that I do not." Rising upwards to his feet as he spoke, the tall man shook out his mended robes and turned to the mouth of the cave. "Of course, Ms. Weasely is just as violent." Said over a shoulder as he disappeared from sight.

Harry simply sat there, his hand holding a steady wand pointed as his gaze tracked the slow and fluid movements of the Spy. The faint flush of adrenaline, and waking up to find the man leaning over him, was fading. Soon enough, the flare of temper caught up to the words of the man and it had the youth surging upwards to his feet almost violently. The anger washed through him though as his nose finally alerted him to the food left for him. For during the two hours Snape had been awake, he had managed to find fresh water and kill a small animal to cook for them. Dropping to his knees, Harry felt a moment of guilt for punching the man who was taking care of him. However, that moment of guilt was much shorter lived than the joy of punching the nasty Potions Professor and living to tell the tale. Wait until Ron hears! With a grin, Harry ate his meal.


End file.
